Non-rape price EMT conduit

timbudtwo · Post by **timbudtwo** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 5:26 pm

I'm building a dome for this year, and after reading and reading many pages on domes, I am baffled. How are people getting EMT for less that 4 dollars per 10' pipe? All over the place people are saying they get each 10' length for around 2.70, yet the best price i can find is at home depot for about 4.50 a pop. Ive also seen people saying they buy it at .50 a foot. This is better than that price, but still. This seems to be gouging. Anyone have a particular source (northern california) of where they get their product?

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 10:37 pm

I don't like the use of "rape" in this context. I mean, if you pay it will you wake up, sweating, seeing the face of the salesman years later?

timbudtwo · Post by **timbudtwo** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 12:09 am

Hmmm.... Im used to using it as a harsher term for highway-robbery. If you think about it, highway robbery can be very scary too. Im not big on being politically correct here, but, I am sorry if I offended. :o

Anyway, what are these people on the intertubes talking about when they say they got these things for half the cost of basically the only places I can buy them?

capjbadger · Post by **capjbadger** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 12:36 am

A lot of those pages are old and were written before the price of steel went through the roof.

Badger

timbudtwo · Post by **timbudtwo** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 12:50 am

[quote="capjbadger"]A lot of those pages are old and were written before the price of steel went through the roof.[/quote]

I figured that may be the case. Makes me a sad boy.

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 5:23 am

theCryptofishist wrote:I don't like the use of "rape" in this context. I mean, if you pay it will you wake up, sweating, seeing the face of the salesman years later?

Only if you paid with a credit card.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 6:35 am

hey timbudtwo:

are you near Smartsville, or, the Yuba River?..........

I'd doubt you'll find it much cheaper anywhere, unless, you try scrap places, building demolishers, either Sacramento or Oakland.

good luck

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 8:24 am

Could also be a confusion between 1/2" and 3/4" EMT...Last time I looked a 1/2" stick went for about $2.70 and 3/4" was around $4.50. (This is in West Michigan, though.) A dome of half-inch is entirely do-able, but I wouldn't make it very big or attempt to climb on it for fear of bending the struts in the middle. Three-quarter-inch is my default size for doming.

While I've seen many construction sites tighten their security, it's still worth peeking into any dumpster that you can gain access to; I've built entire domes just from the short scraps that commonly get pitched during construction/renovation, especially of commercial structures.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 8:42 am

How many Emergency Medical Technicians do you need?

Really, what is EMT?

timbudtwo · Post by **timbudtwo** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 2:52 pm

ygmir wrote: are you near Smartsville, or, the Yuba River?..........

I'd doubt you'll find it much cheaper anywhere, unless, you try scrap places, building demolishers, either Sacramento or Oakland.

I am in the bay area, tri valley to be exact. However, I do not really want to go to scrap yards all over the place asking for waste pipe. In the amount of time that I would spend searching and driving, I could have worked for the money and bought the pipe. Lol

Thanks though.

Ugly Dougly wrote:How many Emergency Medical Technicians do you need?

Really, what is EMT?

Do a quick google search. EMT stands for electrical metal tubing. Basically that galvanized steel tube that is used for everything.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 6:33 pm

Prices vary radically.
It pays to check alternate sizes and wall thicknesses.
Sometimes prices reflect purchase cost, not replacement.
I bought fencepoles for a flat price per stick, not by the foot.
If you use sch 40, aluminum is available for a relatively low price above steel.
You have to find the right place though, for rigid conduit.

timbudtwo · Post by **timbudtwo** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 9:39 pm

gyre wrote:Prices vary radically.
It pays to check alternate sizes and wall thicknesses.
Sometimes prices reflect purchase cost, not replacement.
I bought fencepoles for a flat price per stick, not by the foot.
If you use sch 40, aluminum is available for a relatively low price above steel.
You have to find the right place though, for rigid conduit.

Home depot was more than a buck cheaper per 10 foot pole.

I went down and got 20 of them today. Ill probably go get the rest next weekend.

Im going off this design.
http://www.byexample.com/projects/curre ... nstruction

capjbadger · Post by **capjbadger** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 10:52 pm

doh.. dupe post

capjbadger · Post by **capjbadger** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 10:52 pm

Few tips for you:

Go to Desert Domes if you haven't already. Good info and a great calc tool.
Measure twice, cut once.
Don't paint the ends of the struts. The paint flakes off when you put the dome together and when you take it apart. Really shitty MOOP to try to clean up.
Bring extra struts. Odd are one will get misplaced or bent.
Anchor the dome BEFORE you cover it.

Badger

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 11:49 pm

Use colored heat shrink to color code.

Shade
http://www.shelter-systems.com/
http://www.shelter-systems.com/designs.html

These are very practical.
I like the two size format.
http://www.shelsys.com/index.html

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 9:42 am

timbudtwo wrote: Do a quick google search. EMT stands for electrical metal tubing. Basically that galvanized steel tube that is used for everything.

Ah, here it is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emt
Ethyl methyl toluene.

falk · Post by **falk** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 8:05 pm

timbudtwo wrote:I'm building a dome for this year, and after reading and reading many pages on domes, I am baffled. How are people getting EMT for less that 4 dollars per 10' pipe?

You're looking at old posts. The price skyrocketed in recent years. I've never found it for less than $.50/foot for 3/4" emt.

I hear it's getting cheap again due to the crash.

timbudtwo · Post by **timbudtwo** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 1:50 pm

Yeah, Ive seen desert domes. These people actually have basically the same calculations. I preferred to go with this one as it has no loss of tube. Many other websites have done the same thing with these.

The most time consuming thing is going to be making the tarp cover -_-

thisisthatwhichis · Post by **thisisthatwhichis** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 3:06 pm

Yea, good luck, Timbudtwo..... we had to "suck it up" and pay last year, over the previous year. Good to hear it hasn't gone up too much since then....

timbudtwo · Post by **timbudtwo** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 2:19 am

Yeah. Luckily, part of the price is coming from birthday money (which is in about 18 days) So that about cuts the price in half. Still labor though...

And im trying to build a generator with some leftover stuff. Found out my old alternator is broxed, and I cleaned out an old briggs 5hp mower. Yes, 5hp for a generator. Its going to crank. Im going to put a silencer on it to make the neighbors happy. Then I just need to make an evap, a shower, and get some biodegradable soap! Thats basically all I need.

Ill be in my hut with my homemade hookah waiting to share. Wonder how I should tell people to come to the hookah hut...

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 2:56 am

Put up a legible sign by the street.
If you want to get fancy, add a sign in elwire on the hut.

There are other designs than domes.
Consider an arched structure like a quonset.
Very strong and efficient.

There are other variations in the Shelter Systems design area and other places.

Â¡Niers! · Post by **Â¡Niers!** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 11:11 am

Last year I built a 17ft dome and used 3/4" conduit.
If I remember correctly, the tubing was a total of $217 at the Depot.
Unless you intend to have people climbing all over it, stick with 3/4" it is plenty strong for a domicile. You'd be wasting your money with 1" and short-changing yourself with 1/2".
I found a really good website for building domes at www.byexample.com
They provide a great pattern for the dover (dome cover). Although they used regular silver tarps, I recommend using old billboard tarps. They are UV resistant and extremely durable. The down side to using it is that on one side, it's white, but on the other it will have some kind of advertisement on it like PEPSI or VIAGRA. Not really a big deal, just make sure the white side is on the outside. Plus the idea of recycling something like that just warms the heart. We got ours for free, but as I am planning on building another one, I found tons of the stuff for sale on eBay for a fairly reasonable price. I used pvc glue to connect the panels together. I know it's nasty stuff, but when you finish it, set it up and let it off gas for at least a week. My brother and I tried several glues and that turned out to be the strongest because it kind of melts the material and bonds it together for a 60mph-wind-proof-bond.

Hope this helps ya!
Good luck and be patient!

~Â¡Niers!

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 7:32 pm

I got a bunch of 1/2 inch for free fron a dumpster today. I might be able to make a 2 person "personal space" 2V for less than 50 bucks.

I stamp the letter on my struts for identification.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=97129

I also like to use eyebolts like these for having points inside to hang shit.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=96197

I like to use a varity of coverings depending on situation. Parachutes, Sail cloth, surplus goods etc can be used with clips holding to your struts. I'm stuck on grip clips now but cheap ones like these will work.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=39530

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=39569

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=91838

BurningJim · Post by **BurningJim** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 6:45 pm

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=p ... 72713&bc=c

Non-rape price EMT conduit

Non-rape price EMT conduit

Re: Non-rape price EMT conduit

$3.59 at Lowes